JP2009190678A - Airbag device for side collision - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To realize both of a deploying performance and a storing performance of an airbag. <P>SOLUTION: In this airbag device for side collision, an inflator 41 for emitting expansion gas, and an airbag 20 made into a stored condition by encasing the inflator 41 at its own rear part and being folded are stored in a storing part near an outer side of an occupant seated on a vehicular seat. The airbag 20 is expanded and deployed between a vehicle body side part and the vehicular seat while solving a folding condition by the expansion gas from the inflator 41 according to side collision. In the airbag 20 in the stored condition, a front portion beyond the inflator 41 of the airbag 20 under the deploying condition is folded from a front toward a rear part into an intermediate condition elongated approximately vertically. Furthermore, a lower portion 37 beyond the inflator 41 of the airbag 20 in the intermediate condition is folded from a lower part toward an upper part in a bellows-like manner so that a folded part 37A is approximately perpendicular to the upward and downward direction. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a side-impact airbag device equipped in a vehicle in order to mitigate the impact of a side impact on a vehicle.

  A side impact airbag device is known as a device that protects an occupant from an impact caused by a side impact on a body side portion such as a side door of a vehicle. The apparatus includes an inflator that ejects an inflating gas in response to a side collision of the vehicle, and an air bag that includes the inflator in its rear part and is inflated and deployed by the inflating gas supplied from the inflator. Yes. The airbag and the inflator are accommodated in the vicinity of the outside of the occupant on which the vehicle seat is seated, for example, in the compartment outside the vehicle in the seat back (backrest portion).

  In the side impact airbag device, when an impact is applied to the body side portion from the outside due to the side impact, the inflation gas is ejected from the inflator and supplied into the airbag. The inflation gas causes the air bag to jump out of the seat back, pass through a narrow gap between the occupant seated in the vehicle seat and the body side portion, and expand and deploy to a size and shape that can protect the occupant. . By this airbag, the impact from the outside transmitted to the occupant through the body side portion is mitigated.

  In the above-described side-impact airbag device, the airbag and the inflator must be stored in a storage unit of a limited size in the seat back. Therefore, when storing in the storage unit, it is required to make the airbag in a compact form (storage form).

In response to this, normally, the airbag in a deployed state is folded as follows to form a storage form. First, by folding the front portion of the airbag inflated from the front to the rear, an intermediate form elongated in the vertical direction is obtained. Next, the lower part than the inflator of the intermediate form airbag is folded forward, and the folded part is folded from the front to the rear. By performing such folding, the airbag is made compact for storage in the front-rear direction and the vertical direction. In addition, the aspect which folds a lower part rather than the inflator of an airbag from the front toward the back as mentioned above is described in Patent Document 1, for example.
JP 2006-508846 A

  When the inflation gas is supplied from the inflator to the airbag stored in the seat back storage portion as described above, the airbag first inflates and deploys forward while solving the folded state, Expands and deploys downward. However, it is difficult to inflate and deploy the airbag in a state where it has been inflated and deployed forward and enter into a narrow gap between the occupant's waist and body side, and between the thigh and body side. The reason is considered as follows. In order to inflate and deploy the airbag in a narrow gap, it is effective to inflate and deploy the passenger while moving the occupant inward in the vehicle width direction to increase the width of the gap. In this regard, if the airbag that has been inflated and deployed forward is inflated and deployed downward, the airbag will press the occupant against the seat cushion when trying to enter the narrow gap described above, and inward in the vehicle width direction. It is difficult to move. Therefore, it is difficult to protect the occupant by reliably deploying the airbag to a lower position between the occupant and the body side part.

  Note that the problem described above is unlikely to occur if the airbag in a deployed state is simply folded from the front to the rear to have an elongated shape in the vertical direction. This is because the airbag in the stowed form is deployed from the beginning to a low position. However, in this case, the airbag becomes longer in the vertical direction, making it difficult to store the airbag in the seat back storage portion.

  The present invention has been made in view of such a situation, and an object of the present invention is to provide a side-impact airbag device capable of achieving both the deployment performance and the storage performance of an airbag. .

  In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the invention according to claim 1 includes an inflator for injecting an inflating gas in response to a side collision of a vehicle, and the inflator is contained in a rear part of the inflator and is folded and stored. The air bag in the form of use is stored in a storage part near the outside of the occupant seated on the vehicle seat, and the airbag is released from the folded state by the inflating gas from the inflator. In the side impact airbag device that is inflated and deployed between the body side portion of the vehicle and the vehicle seat, the airbag in the storage configuration includes a front portion of the airbag in the deployed state. By folding from the front to the rear, the intermediate form is elongated in the substantially vertical direction, and further below the inflator of the airbag in the intermediate form Min, so that its the folded portion is substantially perpendicular to the vertical direction, is summarized in that those formed by folding like bellows toward the bottom to the top.

  According to said structure, the dimension of the front-back direction of the airbag of an intermediate | middle form becomes small by folding a front side part from the front to the back rather than the inflator of the airbag of a deployment state. Further, by folding the lower portion of the inflator of the intermediate form airbag in a bellows shape from below to above so that the folded portion is substantially perpendicular to the vertical direction, the airbag of the storage form The vertical dimension is reduced. As described above, in the storage mode, the airbag is compact in the front-rear direction and the vertical direction, and can be easily stored even in a narrow storage portion.

  When an impact is applied to the vehicle from the outside due to a side collision, inflation gas is supplied from the inflator to the airbag. Each part of the airbag in the storage form is inflated by the inflating gas, and first, the lower part of the inflator is deployed from the upper side to the lower side while eliminating the folded state. Here, normally, there is nothing in the vicinity of the lower portion of the storage portion provided near the outside of the occupant that greatly hinders the downward deployment of the airbag. Therefore, the airbag can be deployed to a lower position below the storage unit.

  At this time, the lower part of the inflator of the storage-type airbag receives the pressure of the inflation gas at the folded portion that is substantially orthogonal to the vertical direction, and straightens downward while eliminating the folded state. expand. Since the straightness of the downward deployment is good in this way, the airbag is easily deployed to a lower position below the storage portion.

  The airbag elongated in the vertical direction as a result of the above deployment is deployed while the folded state is eliminated from the rear to the front. At this time, even if the lower part of the airbag expands forward through a narrow gap between the body side of the vehicle and the occupant's waist, thighs, etc., the occupant is pushed away in the vehicle width direction. Cheap. This is because the lower part of the airbag once deployed to a low position does not press the occupant against the vehicle seat or the like when deployed forward. Therefore, the airbag deploys forward between the occupant and the body side part while pushing the occupant inward in the vehicle width direction to widen the gap.

In this manner, the airbag can be deployed over a wide protection region on the outer side of the occupant, and the occupant can be reliably protected from the impact caused by the side collision.
The invention according to claim 2 is the invention according to claim 1, wherein the airbag in the intermediate form is configured such that the folded portion of the airbag in the deployed state is substantially orthogonal to the front-rear direction. Folded in a bellows shape from the front to the rear, the bellows-like folding from the lower side to the lower portion of the airbag in the intermediate form The gist is that it is performed along a fold line set so as to extend in the width direction.

  According to said structure, by the bellows-like folding which goes back from the front, the folding part is substantially orthogonal with respect to the front-back direction in an intermediate form. Therefore, when the intermediate form airbag is to be stored, setting a fold line extending in the vehicle width direction relative to the intermediate form airbag is more than setting a fold line extending in the other direction. Further, it becomes easy to fold the lower portion of the intermediate airbag along the fold line in a bellows shape from below to above.

  Further, the front portion of the inflatable airbag inflator receives the pressure of the inflation gas at the folded portion that is substantially orthogonal to the front-rear direction. For this reason, the airbag whose lower portion is expanded downward and is elongated in the vertical direction with respect to the inflator is deployed straight forward while eliminating the folded state. Thus, since the straightness of deployment toward the front is good, the airbag is easy to deploy to a more forward position.

  The invention according to claim 3 is the gist of the invention according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the airbag has at least a lower part of a waist protection part that inflates and deploys outside the waist part of the occupant. To do.

  The gap between the occupant's waist and the body side part is generally narrower than the gap between the other part of the occupant and the body side part. Therefore, in the case of an airbag having a waist protection part, it is inherently difficult to deploy the waist protection part between the waist part and the body side part. Therefore, according to the invention described in claim 3, by applying the invention described in claim 1 or 2 to the side impact airbag device in which the waist protection part is provided in the airbag, the waist protection part is stored. It can be developed in a narrow gap between the occupant's lower back and the body side part in a state where the lower part is extended to a lower position, and a great effect of appropriately protecting the lower back can be obtained.

  The invention according to claim 4 is the invention according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the inner space of the airbag is partitioned into a plurality of chambers in the vertical direction by a partitioning portion. And

  In the case of an airbag in which the internal space is partitioned into a plurality of chambers in the vertical direction by the partitioning portion, the lower chamber is pulled toward the chamber side that expands adjacent to the upper side. Therefore, in order to reliably protect the occupant's waist and the like from an impact by the airbag, it is important to deploy the lowermost chamber forward at a lower position. Therefore, according to the invention described in claim 4, the invention according to any one of claims 1 to 3 is applied to a side-impact airbag device in which the inner space of the airbag is partitioned into a plurality of chambers in the vertical direction. By applying, the lowermost chamber can be expanded to a lower position below the storage portion, and further expanded in a narrow gap between the occupant and the body side portion in that state. Even if the lowermost chamber is pulled upward as the chamber adjacent to the upper side expands, a great effect of appropriately protecting the passenger can be obtained.

  According to the present invention, the front portion of the inflated airbag inflator is folded from the front to the rear so as to have an intermediate shape that is elongated in the substantially vertical direction, and the lower portion of the inflator is further folded into the folded portion. Is folded into a bellows shape from the bottom to the top so as to be substantially perpendicular to the vertical direction. Therefore, the storage form of the airbag can be made compact and the storage performance can be improved. Moreover, at the time of a side collision, the airbag of a storage form can be expanded over a wider area | region including the lower part of a protection area, and an expansion | deployment performance can be improved.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
In the following description, the forward direction of the vehicle will be described as the front (front of the vehicle), and the reverse direction of the vehicle will be described as the rear (rear of the vehicle). Further, the left-right direction in the following description is the vehicle width direction of the vehicle and coincides with the left-right direction when the vehicle moves forward.

  As shown in at least one of FIGS. 1 and 2, a vehicle seat 12 is disposed in the vicinity of the vehicle inner side (upper side in FIG. 2) of the body side portion 11 in the vehicle. Here, the body side part 11 refers to the member arrange | positioned at the side part of a vehicle. For example, the body side part 11 corresponding to the front seat is a front door, a center pillar (B pillar), or the like. The body side portion 11 corresponding to the rear seat is a rear portion of a side door (rear door), a C pillar, a front portion of a tire house, a rear quarter, and the like.

  The vehicle seat 12 includes a seat cushion (seat portion) 13 and a seat back (back portion) 14 that stands up from the rear side of the seat cushion 13 and has an inclination adjustment mechanism (not shown). Yes. A storage portion 15 is provided on the side of the seatback 14 on the vehicle exterior side, and an airbag module AM that is a main part of the side impact airbag device is stored in the storage portion 15. The position of the storage portion 15 is in the vicinity of the outside of the occupant P seated on the vehicle seat 12. As shown in at least one of FIGS. 3 and 4, the airbag module AM includes the airbag 20 and the inflator assembly 40 as main components.

  Next, each of these structural members will be described. Here, in the present embodiment, when the airbag module AM and its constituent members are referred to as “vertical direction” and “front-rear direction”, the seat back 14 of the vehicle seat 12 is used as a reference. The direction in which the seat back 14 stands is referred to as “vertical direction”, and the direction perpendicular to the substantially longitudinal direction of the vehicle with respect to this direction is referred to as “front / rear direction”. Usually, since the seat back 14 is used in a state of being inclined so as to become lower toward the front side, the “vertical direction” is not strictly a vertical direction but slightly inclined. Similarly, the “front-rear direction” is not strictly a horizontal direction but is slightly inclined.

<Airbag 20>
FIG. 7 schematically shows the airbag module AM in a state where the airbag 20 is inflated by being filled with the inflation gas G (see FIGS. 5 and 6). The airbag 20 is made of a single base fabric 21 made of a material that has high strength and is flexible and can be easily folded, such as a woven fabric formed using polyester yarn, polyamide yarn, or the like. It is formed in a bag shape.

  In this formation, the base fabric 21 having a predetermined shape is folded in half at the center portion to form a pair of constituent fabrics 21A and 21B having the same shape (see FIG. 9B). In FIG. 7, in order to illustrate the component cloth 21 </ b> B on the vehicle inner side, the component cloth 21 </ b> A on the vehicle outer side is illustrated in a partially broken state. Both the constituent fabrics 21A and 21B are arranged and used so that the side 22 that is folded in half is on the rear side. Further, both the constituent fabrics 21A and 21B have sizes and shapes that can occupy a wide region from the waist Pp to the chest Pt of the occupant P seated on the vehicle seat 12 when the airbag 20 is inflated and deployed. Have. Here, an area occupied between the occupant P and the body side portion 11 when the airbag 20 is in the inflated state is referred to as a “protection area A” (see a thick two-dot chain line in FIG. 11).

The pair of constituent fabrics 21A and 21B may be formed by superposing two base fabrics. In this case, each base fabric becomes each component fabric 21A, 21B.
Both constituent fabrics 21 </ b> A and 21 </ b> B are coupled at the coupling portion 23. In FIG. 7, the connecting portion 23 is indicated by a thick broken line (see reference numeral 23 </ b> A) at a location where the vehicle-side component fabric 21 </ b> A is not broken, and the vehicle-side component fabric 21 </ b> A is broken and the vehicle-side component fabric 21 </ b> B is In the exposed part, it is indicated by a two-dot chain line (see reference numeral 23B).

  Further, most of the connecting portion 23 excluding a part is constituted by sewing the peripheral portions of the two constituent fabrics 21A and 21B with sewing threads. A part here is a partition section 24 that partitions the internal space of the airbag 20 into a plurality of (in this case, two) chambers in the vertical direction. The partition portion 24 is a connection that connects a pair of extending portions 25 extending rearward from the front ends of the constituent fabrics 21A and 21B with a substantially constant distance in the vertical direction, and the rear ends of the extending portions 25. It can be distinguished from the part 26. The connecting portion 26 is located at a position slightly away from the peripheral edge portion (side 22) on the rear side of the two constituent fabrics 21A and 21B. The chamber below the partitioning portion 24 constitutes a “waist protecting portion 27” that is located outside the waist portion Pp of the occupant P and protects the waist portion Pp when the airbag 20 is in an inflated state. ing. Further, the chamber above the partition part 24 is located mainly on the outer side of the chest Pt of the occupant P and protects the chest Pt and the like when the airbag 20 is in an inflated state. Is configured.

  A portion surrounded by the partition portion 24 in both the constituent fabrics 21A and 21B is a non-expandable portion 29 where the expansion by the expansion gas G does not occur. Furthermore, the slits 31 which enter into the non-expandable part 29 from the front end are formed in both the constituent fabrics 21A and 21B. When there is an interference object in front of the airbag 20 in the deploying direction, the slit 31 displaces the waist protection part 27 downward and the chest protection part 28 upward due to contact with the interference object. This is to reduce the effect on the environment.

The connecting portion 23 may be formed by means different from the sewing using the sewing thread, for example, bonding using an adhesive.
<Inflator assembly 40>
As shown in at least one of FIGS. 5 and 6, the inflator assembly 40 includes an inflator 41 as a gas generation source and a retainer 42 that surrounds the inflator 41. The inflator 41 has a substantially cylindrical shape elongated in the substantially vertical direction, and a gas generating agent (not shown) is accommodated therein. In this type of inflator 41, the expansion gas G is generated by the combustion reaction of the gas generating agent. A plurality of gas ejection holes 43 through which the generated expansion gas G is ejected radially outward are provided at the lower end of the inflator 41.

  As the inflator 41, instead of the type using the gas generating agent, a type in which the partition wall of the high pressure gas cylinder filled with the high pressure gas is broken with an explosive or the like and the expansion gas G is ejected may be used. .

  On the other hand, the retainer 42 functions as a diffuser and is a member having a function of fixing the inflator 41 together with the airbag 20 to the seat frame 16 (see FIG. 4) in the seat back 14. Most of the retainer 42 is formed in a substantially cylindrical shape elongated in the vertical direction by bending a plate material such as a metal plate. At least the lower end of the upper and lower upper ends of the retainer 42 is open. On the front side of the lower end portion of the retainer 42, a window portion 44 that exposes a part of the gas ejection holes 43 of the inflator 41 from the retainer 42 is provided. Most of the inflation gas G from the gas ejection holes 43 is led out substantially toward the front of the vehicle through the window 44 as shown by solid arrows in FIGS. 5 and 6. Further, a part of the expansion gas G from the gas ejection hole 43 is led out substantially downward from the lower end open portion of the retainer 42 as indicated by a broken arrow in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the inflator assembly 40 having the above-described configuration is disposed slightly behind the partition portion 24 in the internal space of the airbag 20 and is disposed in the upper portion of the airbag 20. Thus, in a state where the inflator assembly 40 is contained in the upper rear portion of the airbag 20, the gas ejection hole 43 of the inflator 41 and the window portion 44 of the retainer 42 are positioned above the waist protection portion 27.

  In the airbag 20, the connecting portion 26 at the rear end of the partition portion 24 is slightly spaced forward from the retainer 42. With this configuration, a communication portion 32 is provided in the rear portion of the airbag 20 (between the connection portion 26 and the inflator assembly 40) to communicate between the waist protection portion 27 and the chest protection portion 28. With this configuration, a part of the inflation gas G in the waist protection part 27 can flow into the chest protection part 28 through the communication part 32.

  By the way, FIG. 8 schematically shows the airbag module AM in a state where the airbag 20 is deployed in a planar shape without being filled with the inflation gas G (hereinafter referred to as “planar deployed state”). The airbag module AM is formed into a compact form (hereinafter referred to as “storing form”) as shown in at least one of FIGS. 3 and 4 by folding the airbag 20 in the flat-deployed state. This is because the airbag module AM is securely stored in the storage unit 15 having a limited size in the seat back 14.

  The airbag 20 for storage includes the first folded portion 20A and the second folded portion 20B. The first folding portion 20A is directed from the front to the rear with respect to the front portion 30 of the inflator assembly 40 of the airbag 20 in the middle of folding (hereinafter referred to as “deployed state”) shown in FIG. It is formed by performing only folding. The second folded portion 20B is formed by performing bellows-like folding from the lower side to the upper side on the lower portion 37 of the inflator assembly 40 of the first folded portion 20A. The first folded portion 20A is held in a bundled state by the binding tape 18, and the second folded portion 20B is held in a bundled state by the binding tape 19. These binding tapes 18 and 19 are configured to be easily broken when the airbag 20 is inflated. In addition, in FIG. 4, illustration of these binding tapes 18 and 19 is abbreviate | omitted. Further, these binding tapes 18 and 19 are not essential members and can be omitted as appropriate.

  The airbag 20 in the flat deployed state is put into a storage form as follows. First, as shown in FIG. 8, the upper part of the chest protection part 28 in the airbag 20 in a planar deployment state is folded inward. The inward folding is one of the folding modes of the airbag 20 in which the end portion of the airbag 20 is folded back so as to be located inside the other portion. In the present embodiment, at the time of inward folding, as indicated by a one-dot chain line in FIG. 8, a single fold line 33 extending in the front-rear direction is set on the upper portion of the chest protection portion 28. Then, a portion 34 above the fold line 33 in each of the constituent fabrics 21A and 21B of the airbag 20 is folded back along the fold line 33 into an inner space between the two constituent fabrics 21A and 21B. By this folding, as shown in at least one of FIGS. 9A and 9B, the portion 34 enters the space and is hidden. In addition, the size of the airbag 20 in the vertical direction is reduced by the amount of folding. The state of the airbag 20 at this time corresponds to the “state during folding (deployed state)” described above.

  Next, the front portion 30 of the airbag 20 in the deployed state is folded bellows with respect to the inflator assembly 40. Here, the bellows folding is one of the folding modes of the airbag 20 in which the airbag 20 is folded in order by a certain width. At the time of the bellows folding, as shown in FIG. 9A, a plurality of fold lines (mountain fold line 35 and valley fold line 36) extending linearly in the vertical direction with respect to the airbag 20 are set. By setting the mountain fold line 35 and the valley fold line 36, the front portion 30 is partitioned into a plurality of folding parts 30A. The interval between the mountain fold line 35 and the valley fold line 36 is the folding width H in the bellows fold.

  Then, the airbag 20 has an accordion-like shape in order of the folding width H from the front to the rear in the vicinity of the inflator assembly 40 as indicated by the arrow B along the mountain fold line 35 and the valley fold line 36. Folded. That is, the airbag 20 is folded so that the surfaces sandwiched by adjacent fold lines (mountain fold line 35, valley fold line 36) in the folded portion 30A overlap. After the folding, as shown in FIG. 10A, all of the surfaces of the plurality of folded portions 30A are substantially orthogonal to the front-rear direction. In other words, the plurality of folded portions 30A are stacked (bundled) in the front-rear direction, and the airbag 20 has an intermediate form that is long in the vertical direction and small in the front-rear direction.

  Further, the lower portion 37 of the intermediate airbag 20 is folded from the inflator assembly 40. At the time of this folding, as shown in at least one of FIGS. 10A and 10B, a plurality of folding lines 38 extending linearly in the vehicle width direction are respectively formed on the lower portion 37 of the airbag 20. Is set.

  Here, prior to the above setting, the bellows-like folding from the front to the rear of the inflator assembly 40 of the airbag 20 in the deployed state is performed from the front to the rear, and the folded portion 30A is in the front-rear direction. It is almost orthogonal. Accordingly, when the airbag 20 of the intermediate configuration is set to the storage configuration, setting the fold line 38 extending in the vehicle width direction with respect to the lower portion 37 of the airbag 20 means that the fold line extending in the other direction is set. It can be done more easily than setting.

  With the above settings, the lower portion 37 is partitioned into a plurality of rectangular folding portions 37A. The interval between adjacent folding lines 38 is the folding width when folding is performed. Then, the airbag 20 is folded in a bellows along the folding lines 38 in order from the bottom to the top as indicated by the arrow C, in increments of the folding width. In the present embodiment, of the plurality of folded parts 37A, only the lowermost part (shown by reference numeral 37A1) is folded in a direction different from the other parts (shown by reference numeral 37A2). As shown in FIG. 3, the folded portion 37A2 other than the lowermost portion is folded downward while alternately changing the folding direction by a certain width, whereas the lowermost folded portion 37A1 is It is folded upward at the front end 37F of the adjacent folded portion 37A2.

  At this time, folding the lower portion 37 along the fold line 38 set so as to extend in the vehicle width direction with respect to the folded portion 30A substantially orthogonal to the front-rear direction follows the fold line extending in the other direction. It can be done more easily than folding.

  Each of the plurality of folded portions 37A is substantially orthogonal to the vertical direction. In other words, all the folded parts 37A are stacked (bundled) in the vertical direction.

  Thus, the first folding part 20A in which only the folding from the front to the rear is performed and the second folding part 20B in which the folding from the lower side to the upper side is applied after the folding from the front side to the rear side are formed. Thus, the airbag 20 is in the storage form. The airbag module AM including the airbag 20 has a small size in the front-rear direction and the vertical direction, and is suitable for storage in the narrow storage portion 15.

  Thereafter, the state in which the folded portions 30A are bundled in the first folding portion 20A is held by the binding tape 18. Further, the state in which the folded portions 37A (37A1, 37A2) are bundled in the second folding portion 20B is held by the binding tape 19.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the air bag module AM in the storage configuration is inserted into the seat frame 16 in the seat back 14 with bolts 45 planted in the retainer 42, and is fastened and fixed by nuts 17. .

  As shown in FIG. 1, the side airbag device includes an impact sensor 51 and a control device 52 in addition to the airbag module AM described above. The impact sensor 51 includes an acceleration sensor and is attached to the body side portion 11 (see FIG. 2) of the vehicle. The impact sensor 51 detects an impact applied to the body side portion 11 from the outside. The control device 52 controls the operation of the inflator 41 based on the detection signal from the impact sensor 51.

  As described above, the side airbag device of the present embodiment is configured. In this side-impact airbag device, an impact of a predetermined value or more is applied to the body side portion 11 of the vehicle, and when this is detected by the impact sensor 51, the control device 52 sends the impact to the inflator 41 based on the detection signal. A command signal for operating this is output. In response to this command signal, in the inflator 41, the gas generating agent generates a high-temperature and high-pressure expansion gas G, which is ejected from the gas ejection holes 43. Most of the inflation gas G is led out through the window portion 44 of the retainer 42 toward the front of the waist protection portion 27 of the airbag 20. Further, a part of the inflation gas G is led out below the waist protection part 27 through the lower end opening part of the retainer 42 (see FIGS. 5 and 6).

  Each part of the waist protection part 27 and the breast protection part 28 supplied with the inflation gas G expands, and the folded state is canceled in the reverse order of the folded order. This is because the part that is folded later restricts the cancellation of the folded state of the part that is folded first. In the present embodiment in which the folding from the lower side to the upper side is performed after the folding from the front side to the rear side, in the airbag 20 for storage, first, the lower portion 37 (second folding) of the inflator assembly 40 is used. The part 20B) expands from the upper side to the lower side while eliminating the folded state (see FIGS. 3 and 4). Here, normally, there is nothing in the vicinity of the lower portion of the storage portion 15 provided in the vicinity of the outside of the occupant P that greatly hinders the downward deployment of the airbag 20 (see FIG. 7). Therefore, the lower portion 37 (second folding portion 20B) of the airbag 20 can be easily deployed to a lower position below the storage portion 15. As a result of this deployment, the airbag is elongated in a substantially vertical direction, as shown by state (I) in FIG.

  At this time, in the lower portion 37 (second folding portion 20B), since the plurality of folding portions 37A (37A1, 37A2) are substantially orthogonal to the vertical direction, the expansion gas in the folding portion 37A. The lower portion 37 (second folding portion 20B) of the airbag 20 that has received the pressure of G expands straight downward while eliminating the folded state. Since the straightness of the downward deployment is good as described above, the airbag 20 can be easily deployed to a lower position below the storage portion 15.

  Further, in the unfolding, the folding portion 37A1 is accompanied by rotation downward (see an arrow of a two-dot chain line in FIG. 11) with the front end 37F of the adjacent folding portion 37A2 as a fulcrum. When there is an interference such as luggage on the vehicle seat 12, the direction of the rotation is a direction away from the interference. Therefore, when the folded portion 37A1 cancels the folded state, the possibility that the folded portion 37A1 hits the interference object and pushes it strongly is such that the folded portion 37A1 is folded upward at the rear end of the folded portion 37A2 and overlapped on the upper side. It becomes lower than the case where the rotation which goes to the front lower direction is accompanied at the time of expansion | deployment.

  The airbag 20 elongated in the vertical direction by the above-described deployment continues to be deployed while eliminating the folded state from the rear to the front as shown in the states (II) and (III) of FIG. At this time, the lower part 61 of the airbag 20 in the state (I) moves forward through a narrow gap G1 (see FIG. 2) between the body side part 11 of the vehicle and the waist part Pp, thigh part Pf, etc. of the occupant P. It will be expanded to. This gap G1 is generally narrower than the gap G1 between the other part of the occupant P and the body side portion 11. However, the airbag 20 in the stowable form is easier to push the occupant P inward in the vehicle width direction than in the prior art in which the airbag 20 is first deployed from the rear to the front and then deployed from the top to the bottom. In the prior art, the occupant P is pressed against the seat cushion 13 or the like when the airbag 20 is about to enter the narrow gap G1, whereas in the present embodiment, the airbag 20 once deployed to a low position is used. This is because the occupant P is not pressed against the vehicle seat 12 or the like when the lower portion 61 is deployed forward. Therefore, the airbag 20 has a narrow gap between the occupant P and the body side part 11 while pushing the waist part Pp, thigh part Pf, etc. of the occupant P inwardly in the vehicle width direction to increase the width of the gap G1. Securely deploy forward through G1.

  In this case, in the front portion 30 of the inflator assembly 40 of the airbag 20 for storage, the plurality of folded portions 30A are substantially orthogonal to the front-rear direction. From this, after the lower portion 37 is deployed downward, the front portion 30 of the airbag 20 that has received the pressure of the inflation gas G in the folded portion 30A is straightened forward while eliminating the folded state. expand. Thus, since the straightness of deployment toward the front is good, the airbag 20 can be easily deployed to a more forward position.

  Although not shown, after the airbag 20 has been deployed to the front to some extent, the folded portion 34 (see FIGS. 9A and 9B) of the upper portion of the airbag 20 is folded. Is resolved. However, FIGS. 9A and 9B only show a state in the middle of folding the airbag 20 in the flat deployed state, and do not show a state in the middle of inflation. Here, when the airbag 20 is folded by inward folding, the folded state is more easily resolved than when the airbag 20 is folded in another manner. For example, when the terminal part of the airbag 20 is folded outside the other part, after the inflation gas G reaches the terminal part from the other part, the terminal part is inflated and the cancellation of the folded state starts. Is done. However, in this embodiment folded inward, since the terminal part is located inside the other part, the inflation gas G acts on the terminal part early, and the terminal part is pushed out from the other part. As a result, the folded state is quickly eliminated. By this cancellation, although not shown, the portion 34 of the airbag 20 is quickly deployed upward.

  In this way, the airbag 20 is deployed so as to occupy the entire protection region A (see FIG. 11) on the outer side of the occupant P, and the occupant P is reliably protected from the impact caused by the side collision.

  Further, when each part of the airbag 20 is deployed as described above, the expansion gas G ejected from the gas ejection hole 43 is directly supplied to the waist protection unit 27, whereas the chest protection unit 28 is The inflation gas G once supplied to the waist protection part 27 is supplied through the communication part 32. For this reason, the chest protector 28 expands with a lower internal pressure than the waist protector 27. Therefore, in general, in the impact resistance of the human body side, the waist Pp is superior to the chest Pt and the like. However, the impact acting on the occupant P due to the inflation and deployment of the airbag 20 is applied to the waist Pp in the chest Pt and the like. Smaller than.

According to the embodiment described in detail above, the following effects can be obtained.
(1) When the airbag 20 is stored, the front portion 30 of the airbag 20 in the deployed state shown in FIG. 10 (A) and 10 (B) have an intermediate form elongated in the substantially vertical direction. Further, the lower portion 37 of the intermediate airbag 20 of the airbag 20 is folded in a bellows shape from the bottom to the top so that the folded portions 37A1 and 37A2 are substantially orthogonal to the vertical direction. .

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 3, the airbag 20 can be in a compact storage form suitable for storage in the narrow storage portion 15.
Further, at the time of a side collision of the vehicle, as shown in FIG. 11, after the lower portion 37 is deployed to a lower position below the storage portion 15 than the inflator assembly 40 of the airbag 20 for storage, the airbag 20 The whole can be expanded forward. Thus, the occupant P can be protected from the impact caused by the side collision by the airbag 20 deployed over the wide protection area A outside the occupant P.

  (2) When the airbag 20 is in the intermediate configuration, as shown in FIG. 9A, the front portion 30 of the inflatable assembly 20 of the airbag 20 in the deployed state is shown in FIG. It is folded in a bellows shape from the front to the rear so as to be substantially orthogonal. Therefore, the airbag 20 elongated in the vertical direction by the downward deployment of the lower portion 37 can be deployed straight forward while eliminating the folded state. As described above, since the straightness of deployment toward the front is improved, the airbag 20 can be reliably deployed to a more forward position.

  (3) In addition to the configuration of the above (2), the bellows-like folding from the lower side to the upper side of the lower portion 37 of the airbag 20 in the intermediate form is performed in the vehicle width direction as shown in FIG. This is performed along a plurality of extending folding lines 38. Accordingly, when the intermediate airbag 20 is in the storage configuration, setting the folding line 38 extending in the vehicle width direction with respect to the lower portion 37 of the intermediate airbag 20 extends in the other direction. This is easier than setting the fold lines, and the lower portion 37 of the airbag 20 can be easily folded along the fold lines 38 in a bellows shape from below to above. In this way, both unfolding performance and folding performance can be achieved.

  (4) The gap G1 between the waist part Pp of the occupant P and the body side part 11 is generally narrower than the gap G1 between other parts of the occupant P and the body side part 11. Therefore, in the case of an airbag having a waist protection part, it is inherently difficult to deploy the waist protection part between the waist part Pp and the body side part 11. Therefore, by providing both folding portions 20A and 20B for the side airbag device having the waist protection portion 27 in the airbag 20 as in the present embodiment, the waist protection portion 27 can be connected to the lower side of the storage portion 15. In a state where the occupant P is deployed to a low position, the occupant P can be deployed in a narrow gap G1 between the waist part Pp and the body side part 11, and a great effect of appropriately protecting the waist part Pp is obtained.

  (5) Generally, in the case of an airbag in which the internal space is partitioned into a plurality of chambers in the vertical direction by the partitioning portion, the lower chamber is pulled toward the chamber side that expands adjacent to the upper side. Therefore, in order to reliably protect the lower back portion Pp and the like of the occupant P from impact by the airbag, it is important to deploy the lowermost chamber forward at a lower position.

  Therefore, as in this embodiment, in the side impact airbag device in which the inner space of the airbag 20 is partitioned into two chambers in the vertical direction and the chest protection unit 28 and the waist protection unit 27 are provided, the waist protection unit 27 A particularly great effect can be obtained by deploying the airbag 20 to a lower position below the storage portion 15 and further deploying the airbag 20 forward in that state. That is, the lower part of the waist protection part 27 is expanded by the narrow gap G1 between the waist part Pp and the body side part 11, so that the waist protection part 27 is pulled upward along with the expansion of the chest protection part 28 adjacent to the upper side. In addition, the occupant P, particularly the waist Pp, can be appropriately protected.

  (6) When the lower portion 37 of the intermediate airbag 20 is folded from the inflator assembly 40, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 11, the lowermost folding portion 37A1 is replaced by the folding portion 37A2 adjacent thereto. It is folded upward at the front end 37F and overlaps the upper side of the folded portion 37A2. Therefore, when the folded portion 37A1 is released from the folded state, the possibility that the folded portion 37A1 hits the interference on the vehicle seat 12 and pushes it strongly is folded back at the rear end of the folded portion 37A2 and overlapped on the upper side. In this case, it can be made lower than the case accompanied by rotation toward the front and lower side.

Note that the present invention can be embodied in another embodiment described below.
When the lower portion 37 of the intermediate airbag 20 is folded, the lowermost folding portion 37A1 is folded back at the rear end of the next folding portion 37A2 so as to overlap the lower side of the folding portion 37A2. May be. Also in this case, the same effect as in the above-described embodiment in which the lowermost folded portion 37A1 is folded back at the front end 37F of the adjacent folded portion 37A2 and overlapped on the folded portion 37A2 can be expected.

  The state in which all of the airbag 20 is deployed in a planar shape (planar deployed state: see FIG. 8) is referred to as the “deployed state” in the claims, and the front portion of the airbag 20 in the planar deployed state from the inflator assembly 40 It is good also as an intermediate form elongate in a substantially up-down direction by folding toward the back from the front.

-You may fold the front side part 30 rather than the inflator assembly 40 of the airbag 20 of the expansion | deployment state toward the back from the front in the folding aspect different from bellows folding.
The storage portion 15 may be replaced with the seat back 14 and may be provided in the body side portion 11 at a location near the outside of the occupant P seated on the vehicle seat 12.

The inflator assembly 40 may be one in which the inflator 41 and the retainer 42 are integrated.
The interior space of the airbag 20 may be partitioned into three or more chambers in the vertical direction by the partitioning portion 24. At this time, when the lowermost chamber is located on the outer side of the waist portion Pp of the occupant P and protects the waist portion Pp (the waist protection portion), It may be a chamber that protects at least one of the chest Pt, the abdomen, the shoulder, and the head of the occupant P. Each chamber may be a chamber that protects a portion different from the waist portion Pp of the occupant P.

  -The present invention is a side impact airbag device in which the airbag 20 does not have the waist protection portion 27, for example, when an impact due to a side impact is applied to the body side portion of the vehicle, the head and chest of the occupant from the impact It can also be applied to a side impact airbag device that protects the vehicle. In this case, the airbag of the storage form is folded by folding the upper part of the inflator of the intermediate airbag in a bellows shape from the top to the bottom so that the folded portion is substantially orthogonal to the vertical direction. Form. Even if it does in this way, the effect of aiming at coexistence with the deployment performance and storage performance of an airbag will be acquired.

In addition, the technical ideas that can be grasped from the respective embodiments will be described together with their effects.
(A) In the airbag device for a side collision according to any one of claims 1 to 4, when the lower portion of the airbag in the intermediate form is folded, the lowermost folded portion is It is folded upward at the front end of the adjacent folding part and overlapped on the upper side of the folding part.

  According to the above configuration, when the lower portion of the inflator of the storage-type airbag is deployed while releasing the folded state from the upper side to the lower side, the lowermost folded portion is the next folded portion. With the front end of the wing as a fulcrum, it is accompanied by a rotation downward. When there is an interference such as luggage on the vehicle seat, the direction of the rotation is a direction away from the interference. Therefore, the possibility that the lowermost folded part hits the interference object when releasing the folded state is strongly pushed back at the rear end of the folded part and overlapped on the upper side. It becomes lower than the case accompanied by the rotation toward the front lower direction.

  (B) In the side-impact airbag device according to any one of claims 1 to 4 and (A), in the deployed state, the upper portion of the airbag in a state of being completely deployed in a planar shape However, it is bent inside the airbag along a fold line extending substantially in the front-rear direction.

By being bent in this way, the size in the vertical direction of the airbag in the storage mode is further reduced, and it is easy to store.
(C) An inflator that blows inflating gas in response to a side collision of the vehicle, and an airbag that is enclosed in the rear part of the inflator and folded into a storage form are seated on the vehicle seat. The air bag is inflated and deployed between the vehicle body side part and the vehicle seat while the folded state of the airbag is released by the inflating gas from the inflator. In the airbag device for a side collision,
The airbag in the storage form includes a first folding portion formed by only folding from the front to the rear with respect to a front portion of the inflator in the deployed airbag, and the first folding portion. A side-impact airbag device comprising: a second folding portion formed by performing a bellows-like folding from a lower portion to an upper portion on a lower portion of the folding portion than the inflator. .

  According to said structure, the effect similar to the invention of Claim 1 is acquired.

In one Embodiment which actualized this invention, the schematic side view of the vehicle seat equipped with the airbag apparatus for side collisions. The schematic plane sectional view which shows the positional relationship of a vehicle seat and a body side part. The schematic side view which takes out and shows an airbag module from the inside of a vehicle seat. The schematic plane sectional view which shows the state which looked at the airbag module from diagonally backward upper direction. FIG. 3 is a schematic side view of an inflator assembly. The schematic plan view which shows the state which looked at the inflator assembly from diagonally backward upper direction. The schematic side view which shows the airbag module of the state (inflated state) with which the airbag was inflated with a passenger | crew. The schematic side view which shows the airbag module of the state (flat surface deployment state) by which the airbag was expand | deployed planarly without being filled with the gas for expansion | swelling. (A) is a schematic side view showing the airbag module in a state of being folded (deployed state) in which the airbag in the flat deployed state is folded inward along the fold line, and (B) is an XX line in (A). The fragmentary sectional view which shows the cross-sectional structure of the airbag upper part in alignment with. (A) is a schematic side view which shows an airbag module when an airbag is folded by the intermediate form, (B) is a schematic rear view of the airbag module of (A). Explanatory drawing which shows a mode that the airbag of a storage form expand | swells and expands with a protection area | region.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 ... Body side part, 12 ... Vehicle seat, 15 ... Storage part, 20 ... Air bag, 24 ... Partition part, 27 ... Waist protection part, 30 ... Front part, 30A, 37A (37A1, 37A2) ... Folded part , 33, 38 ... folding line, 37 ... lower part, 41 ... inflator, G ... inflation gas, P ... passenger, Pp ... waist.

Claims (4)

An inflator that blows inflating gas in response to a side collision of the vehicle, and an airbag that is enclosed in the rear part of the inflator and folded into a storage form, and that is seated on the vehicle seat. The airbag is stored in a storage section in the vicinity of the outer side, and the airbag is inflated and deployed between the body side portion of the vehicle and the vehicle seat while eliminating the folded state by the inflation gas from the inflator. In the side impact airbag device,
The airbag in the storage form has an intermediate form elongated in a substantially vertical direction by folding a front part of the airbag in the deployed state from the front to the rear, and further, the airbag of the intermediate form The side collision is characterized in that the lower portion of the inflator is formed by folding in a bellows shape from below to above so that the folded portion is substantially orthogonal to the vertical direction. Airbag device. The airbag in the intermediate form is formed by folding the front portion of the airbag in a deployed state in a bellows shape from the front to the rear so that the folded portion is substantially orthogonal to the front-rear direction. Yes,
The bellows-like folding from the lower side to the upper side of the lower portion of the airbag in the intermediate form is performed along a fold line set so as to extend in the vehicle width direction with respect to the lower portion. Item 2. The airbag device for a side collision according to Item 1. The side airbag apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the airbag has a waist protection portion that is inflated and deployed on an outer side of the waist portion of the occupant at least in a lower portion of the airbag. The side air bag device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein an inner space of the airbag is partitioned into a plurality of chambers in a vertical direction by a partition portion.

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